Tru nk-fasten er



(Model) i G. H. TURNER.

4 TRUNK FASTmER-- No. 284,148. Patented Aug. 28, 1883,

To all whom tw/my concern: I

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. TURNER, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

TRUNK-FASTENER.'

I SPECIFICATION .forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,14ada1-.eu'August es, 1883.

Application inea May 19,1883. (Model.)

y Be it known that I, GEORGE H. TURNER, a

` citizen of the United States, residing at Brisi Ic 'back.

tol, in the countyof `Hartford and State of Connecticut, have `invented certainnew and useful Improvements invTrunkFasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in trunk-fasteners, and has for its object simplicity of construction and convenience and efficiency of operation. I attain these objects by thesimple construction illustrated in` the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of my trunkfastener with the parts brought into engagement in position for fastening the trunk. Fig.` 2 is a like view with the latch thrown out of engagement with its keeper and turned clear Fig. 3 is a vertical section thereof on line x w of Fig. l, and with the latch turned part way back. `Fig. 4 is a detached front view of the latch and its spring. i

A designates the keeper,` which consists of a suitable plate adapted to be attached to the vfront of the trunk-cover and provided with a latch-receiving socket, a', upon its front face. The Side walls of this socket project forward a distance about equal to the thickness of the latch B, so Vthat said walls form a protection for the latch and prevent it from being accidentally withdrawnfrom the socket. These walls are also contracted toward their lower end, so as to conform to the contour of the outer end of the latch B, and act upon the edges of said latch to` hold the parts in` engageinent.

C designates a plate or frame, which is adapted to be secured to the front of the trunkbody, and in which the latch B is pivoted.v I prefer to construct this latch B in loop form, with a cross-bar, a, which forms a pintle upon which the latch turns. The spring bis formed of sheet-steel, and is riveted to the under side vof theV latch B, at its outer end. Ifornrthe `pintle-recess in the cap c, which has a slot for that purpose in its under side, and a'circular hub, d, which surrounds said slot. The pintle c of the latch is placed within the slot in the hub d, and the cap c is secured tothe body of the plate C by means of the rivet f, thereby forming a hinge for the latch, while the hub d forms a bearing for the end of the frictionspring b. The Aoliiee of the spring bis to bear upon the round face of the hub d with sufficient force to create such an amount of friction as will cause lthe latch to stay in whatever position it may be placed, The upper part of the socket a is left open, and a proj ection or handle, g, is formed upon the iouter endof the latch, which, when the latch"`"` is closed, as shown in Fig. l, projects above the socket, and thereby forms a convenient grasping-piece for the fingers by which to throw the latch back.

I am aware that the patent to Locke, No. 112,937, March 2l, 1871, shows spring-straps having enlargements at their outer ends, in

connection with sockets having contracted side walls to form the keeper for such springstraps,` also, that trunk-fasteners have been heretofore lmade with one plate having a stud or projectionon its front face7 and a second plate having a latch hinged thereto, with a hole or opening in its end to take over and upon theprojection or stud on the companion plate, the said latch, being held into and out of engagement by means of a spring secured to or within the latch-bearing plate and bearing upon the latch near its hinged end, and I hereby disclaim the same.

I claim as myinvention* l. The herein-described trunk-fastener conf sistingof the plate A, having an open socket in its front face, whose forwardly-projecting side walls are drawn toward each other near their lower ends7 and the plate C, bearing the hinged latch, with an enlarged outer end for locking into the socket, and whose outer edges conform to andengage with the inner sideV l GEORGE H. TURNER.

Vitnesses:

AMARTIN A. POND, Y JOHN EDwARDs, Jr. 

